State of New Jersey Archives: on Abortion

Jeff Bell:
Science demonstrates that the unborn are human

Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Abortion is a woman's right"?

A: Abortion on demand, imposed by the Supreme Court in all 50 states in 1973 and reaffirmed by the Court on a vote of 5 to 4 in Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992, is a
violation of the first human right mentioned among the "self-evident" truths in our Declaration of Independence: the right to life. The need to apply this self-evident truth to the unborn has become much more apparent in the last four decades because
of discoveries in the field of DNA and advances in the technology of the sonogram. Even the Supreme Court of 40 years ago in Roe v. Wade acknowledged that if it were factually established that an unborn baby is a "person,"
anti-abortion legislation would have to be upheld by the courts. I believe this simple fact has been conclusively established by the science of DNA.

Jeff Bell:
Ban abortion after 20 weeks, or for sex selection

Q: What are your legislative plans with regards to abortion?

A: If elected I will introduce and support legislation recognizing the unborn as persons entitled to the right to life under the terms of the 14th amendment. I will also vote in
Congress for legislation that seeks to reduce the number of abortions. Two examples are the House-passed ban on abortions after 20 weeks and the proposed ban on abortions for the purpose of sex selection.

Cory Booker:
OpEd: In mainstream of NJ, supporting abortion rights

Booker and Lonegan each attacked the other with starkly different views on health care, gay marriage, abortion, education and job creation.

Lonegan was asked about his affiliation with the tea party, his support for the government shutdown and his
opposition to abortion and gay marriage.

Booker's campaign is banking on the fact that Lonegan's views are far to the right of those of a majority of New Jersey residents, who support abortion and gay marriage and voted to return Pres. Obama to office.

Steve Lonegan:
Opposes abortion rights

Booker and Lonegan each attacked the other with starkly different views on health care, gay marriage, abortion, education and job creation.

Lonegan was asked about his affiliation with the tea party, his support for the government shutdown and his
opposition to abortion and gay marriage.

Booker's campaign is banking on the fact that Lonegan's views are far to the right of those of a majority of New Jersey residents, who support abortion and gay marriage and voted to return Pres. Obama to office.

Barbara Buono:
Promote potentially life-saving stem cell research

Barbara has sponsored legislation to require insurance companies to promote potentially life-saving stem cell research. And Barbara's stood up to Governor Christie's right-wing policies that have slashed funding for family
planning and women's health services across New Jersey.

As Governor, Barbara will restore funding for women's health and work to lower the cost of insurance and expand coverage

Bob Menendez:
I'm pro-choice, not multiple-choice

When the debate turned to abortion, Kyrillos drew a distinction between his private and public lives. "I'm not exactly sure when exactly life begins. I know for me,
I have a pro-life thought process," he said in response to a question asking when he believed life first begins during pregnancy. "I'm pro-life in terms of how
I conduct my own affairs," he said, adding, "I'm pro-choice for society at large."

"I have now been in three debates, and I've heard three different answers" from Kyrillos about abortion, said
Menendez, who added he is pro-choice. "What I don't believe women in this state can afford is someone who goes to the Senate and is multiple-choice," he said.

Source: The Bergen Record on 2012 N.J. Senate debate
Oct 14, 2012

Joe Kyrillos:
Pro-life in my affairs; pro-choice for society

When the debate turned to abortion, Kyrillos drew a distinction between his private and public lives. "I'm not exactly sure when exactly life begins. I know for me,
I have a pro-life thought process," he said in response to a question asking when he believed life first begins during pregnancy. "I'm pro-life in terms of how
I conduct my own affairs," he said, adding, "I'm pro-choice for society at large."

"I have now been in three debates, and I've heard three different answers" from Kyrillos about abortion, said
Menendez, who added he is pro-choice. "What I don't believe women in this state can afford is someone who goes to the Senate and is multiple-choice," he said.

Source: The Bergen Record on 2012 N.J. Senate debate
Oct 14, 2012

Joe Kyrillos:
Supports parental notifications and waiting periods

The Menendez campaign has accused Kyrillos of changing his position on abortion rights--he says he supports them but marked "pro life" on a questionnaire last year--and wanting to overturn popular portions of the Affordable Care Act.

The campaign has pressed for women's votes, noting that Mr. Kyrillos declined to vote on a resolution supporting an equal-pay act.

Mr. Kyrillos, more velveteen and affable, does not come off as an extremist.
He said that he was unfamiliar with the questionnaire, but that he supported parental notifications and waiting periods for abortions--positions, he said, most voters also support.

At the debate on Thursday,
Kyrillos declined to answer when asked if he would support a Supreme Court nominee who would most likely vote to overturn the law barring federal recognition of same-sex marriage. He said only that he would give a fair hearing to a president's nominees.

Source: Associated Press on 2012 N.J. Senate debate
Oct 5, 2012

Dick Zimmer:
Supports abortion rights

Former Rep. Dick Zimmer, who supports abortion rights, defeated state Sen. Joseph Pennacchio and Ramapo College professor Murray Sabrin to win the Republican nomination for a
U.S. Senate seat in New Jersey, the Newark Star-Ledger reports (Schwaneberg, , 6/4).

In the mid-1990s one of my students showed me a picture of a procedure called "partial birth abortion." I was appalled that this could be legal, a fully developed baby brutally killed in a grizzly procedure that animal lovers would protest if done on a
household pet or any other animal. I was under the impression that Roe allowed states to ban abortion in the last trimester and could regulate abortion in the second trimester. I was wrong. Apparently, abortion on demand has been the law of the land
since 1973. I therefore could be described as a pro-choice, anti-partial birth abortion libertarian.

In 1997, as the Libertarian Party gubernatorial candidate, the partial birth issue became one of the front-burner issues. Rep. Ron Paul sent me his
book "Challenge to Liberty: Coming to Grip with the Abortion Issue," making a libertarian case for the pro-life position. I read his beautifully written 100-page book in one reading and from then on I became a pro-life libertarian.

Thomas Kean Jr.:
No litmus test for judicial nominees

Q: Do you believe that Roe v. Wade should be a litmus test for Supreme Court judges?

KEAN: Unlike Bob Menendez, I support judicial nominees based on merit and ability, not based on litmus tests or whether they support my political views.

MENENDEZ: I strongly support a woman’s right to choose. Unlike my opponent, I believe we must have Supreme Court justices who will uphold Roe v. Wade.

Source: Hall Institute N.J. Senate Virtual Debate
Sep 24, 2006

Thomas Kean Jr.:
Menendez distorts my pro-stem-cell stance

Q: Do you believe that Federal funding of embryonic stem cell research should be banned?

KEAN: I fully support stem cell research, voted in favor of it and opposed President Bush’s veto. Sadly, Bob Menendez distorts my record on this issue.

MENENDEZ: I stood up to Bush and voted to expand funding for stem-cell research. Rubberstamp Republican Tom Kean Jr. voted against funding stem-cell research six times.

Source: Hall Institute N.J. Senate Virtual Debate
Sep 24, 2006

Robert Menendez:
I support stem cell research 100%

Q: Your views on stem cell research?

MENENDEZ: I’m working to help researchers harness the potential of stem cell research to prevent and cure diseases like Parkinson’s & Alzheimer’s. Breakthroughs wouldn’t only improve quality of life, but would also
keep people out of nursing homes and long-term care facilities. In turn, this would reduce costs for Medicaid and other programs. I support stem cell research 100%. Tom Kean Jr. might say he supports it, but he’s voted against funding stem cell research
3 times in the last year alone.

KEAN: Bob Menendez misrepresents my position on stem cell research. In the state senate, I supported stem cell research and opposed pork-barrel brick and mortar projects that Bob’s cronies in Trenton attempted to pass
under the guise of good science. I opposed Pres. Bush’s veto of the federal stem cell legislation and, in the Senate, will work to bring the hope and promise that stem cell research offers to millions of Americans who suffer from devastating diseases.

Source: Hall Institute N.J. Senate Virtual Debate
Sep 2, 2006

Thomas Kean Jr.:
Opposed Bush’s veto of federal stem cell legislation

Q: Your views on stem cell research?

MENENDEZ: I’m working to help researchers harness the potential of stem cell research to prevent and cure diseases like Parkinson’s & Alzheimer’s. Breakthroughs wouldn’t only improve quality of life, but would also
keep people out of nursing homes and long-term care facilities. In turn, this would reduce costs for Medicaid and other programs. I support stem cell research 100%. Tom Kean Jr. might say he supports it, but he’s voted against funding stem cell research
3 times in the last year alone.

KEAN: Bob Menendez misrepresents my position on stem cell research. In the state senate, I supported stem cell research and opposed pork-barrel brick and mortar projects that Bob’s cronies in Trenton attempted to pass
under the guise of good science. I opposed Pres. Bush’s veto of the federal stem cell legislation and, in the Senate, will work to bring the hope and promise that stem cell research offers to millions of Americans who suffer from devastating diseases.